Change of Pace

It's been a quiet week or so here on the Knobs as we all worked (still working) through our grief over losing Granny Magdalene. Her family, 3 sons, 1 daughter and husband Bob are all doing well. As sad an occasion as it was, it was wonderful to get to know my cousins better and meet a few I didn't know I had! It's a great comfort to know there are so many family members living close-by, seeing familiar faces and finding out that we're kin. Bob (Grandbob) made a date with Mara for this summer; cookies and frog-feeding in the little fish pond. We're slowly settling into a new type of normalcy.

On a happier note, we're having a big 4th birthday party this weekend! My little Tink is turning 4 with a Tinkerbell-themed birthday party at Mamaw and Papaw's house. It's nothing fancy really, some food, cake and ice cream, but it's a great way to break the pervasive sadness that we've been experiencing the past couple weeks. After all, you don't turn 4 everyday, right? Mara's cousin Roni is coming in from Akron, and cousin Olivia (Weba) will also be there, so it should be a fun time for all.

Jeff has started college again. He finished his 2 year degree and is now working on a Bachelor's at Wittenberg U. It's keeping him pretty busy as it's fairly writing-intensive, but he seems to really enjoy it. I'm thinking he needs to do a guest post for me about his class 'The Problems With Democracy'. 3 weeks in and it's already quite interesting. But we'll save that for another day.

On the preparedness front, we're still busy stocking up on food, especially grains and different varieties of canned food. I hate to buy canned food, with all their can-lining issues, but one simply cannot live on home-canned green beans, applesauce and tomatoes alone. With any luck, our little trees will begin producing this summer and we'll have a larger variety of fruits to put up. And speaking of summer....summer can't get here quickly enough for me! We just opened up our last jar of strawberry jam...and it will be gone long before strawberry season begins! Note to self: can twice as much strawberry jam and preserves in 2010.

We've been busy purging the basement here at the Run. Our church is doing a relief drive for the Haitian mission it supports, so we've been digging through outgrown children's clothes and shoes to donate. We'll also be donating a bit of canned meat, peanut butter and some baby formula the Gerber people keep sending me. (Hey Gerber people...my baby is 4 and never used formula! But you can keep sending it and I'll keep donating it!)

The children are the most hurtful part of the whole Haiti cataclysm. Adults are responsible for their own lots in life, but those poor children are the real victims. Like that newborn they found laying in a ditch, thankfully found alive and well. Who the heck leaves a newborn laying in a ditch? I can't begin to say what I'd do in a similar disaster, but I can't imagine what would bring me to abandon my children. I've been busily knitting lightweight newborn caps to send along with the clothing and formula. It may be an exercise in futility, but at least I feel like I'm doing something, futile or not.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the Ameraucanas are laying blue eggs like there's no tomorrow! Our egg production has really picked up in the last week or so, so in the next couple weeks, I'm anticipating canning Lemon Curd with all the extra eggs. Nothing like some homegrown sunshine in a jar, eh?

So, I think you're all caught up now. That's what's going on in our corner of the world. What's the new year been like for you?